US, Iran Hold Brief Talks on Iraq Crisis in Vienna

Local Editor

The United States and Iran briefly discussed the crisis in Iraq on the sidelines of a critical fifth round of nuclear talks in Vienna, US officials said Monday.

"The issue did come up briefly with Iran on the margins of the P5+1 in Vienna today, separate from our trilateral meeting" which had included the EU, a senior State Department official said in a statement, asking not to be named.

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed to CNN television that there were "brief discussions."

It is yet to be determined "if we want to keep talking to Iran about Iraq," she added, acknowledging though that Tehran and Washington had "a shared interest" in ensuring militants don't get "a foothold any more in Iraq."

But she stressed: "No outside country can fix Iraq's problems. We need Iraq's political leaders from across the spectrum to step up."

Another US official stated that no further bilateral talks on Iraq were likely to be held in Vienna, but did not rule out further discussions elsewhere between the traditional foes.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said "there is absolutely no intention, no plan to coordinate military activities between the United States and Iran."

In the Austria capital were US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, who held secret nuclear talks with Iran in 2013, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"The US and Iran discussed Afghanistan ... so from time to time there have been times where it makes sense to be part of a conversation," the US official said.

The main focus in Vienna remains however efforts towards a nuclear deal with only five weeks before a July 20 deadline to sign on the dotted line.

The senior US official said however that contrary to the general assessment by experts, both sides actually began to draft a deal at their last meeting in May and "it was expected more will take place during this round."

She added that in US-Iranian bilateral talks last week, both sides "not only understood each other better ... but I think we both can see places where we might be able to close the gaps."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team